Chapter 12: Paleman Trading Company (2)

Paleman couldn’t help but be bewildered when he heard that the man had come to his trading company not to buy, but to sell something.

“It’s a recipe.”

“A rec…… ipe? You mean…… a cooking recipe?”

Though he had heard clearly, Paleman couldn’t believe it and asked again.

“That’s right. A cooking recipe.”

“And why…… are you trying to sell that?”

Paleman still couldn’t grasp Patrick’s proposal.

“Do you happen to have a kitchen here?”

“There is one in the back, but…….”

“Then, let me borrow it for a while.”

With that, Patrick headed toward the room the merchant pointed to.

Inside was a small kitchen, set up for simple cooking.

“Hey! What are you trying to do?”

“I think it would be best if you tasted the recipe yourself. Then you’ll understand what I’m proposing.”

Patrick placed the large bag he’d brought on the table and opened it.

Inside were pieces of Rickbird and Tugpig meat, cooking utensils, and various seasonings.

Rickbird was similar to chicken, and Tugpig was akin to pork.

“You mean to cook that here? That’s not acceptable!”

“It’ll be ready soon. Please wait just a moment.”

Ignoring Paleman’s protests, Patrick continued preparing.

He poured oil into a pot, then laid the Tugpig meat covered in a thick layer of sauce over it.

Once it was grilled evenly without burning, he began skimming off the excess oil while sprinkling seasonings in a peculiar combination.

It was all from the recipe Raion had taught him.

Meanwhile, Paleman, who had been watching absentmindedly from the side, tilted his head as the delicious aroma began to waft through the room.

Before long, the dish was complete—brown, glistening meat laid neatly on a plate.

“Please, have a taste.”

Patrick handed him a fork and knife that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Paleman, hesitant at first, couldn’t resist the mouthwatering smell and accepted them.

“I-I’ll try it, then.”

Perhaps because of the aroma that spread outside, both the customers browsing the shop and the clerk, Mer, were peeking through the kitchen door crack.

Slice—!

A palm-sized piece of Tugpig meat was cut off and brought to Paleman’s mouth.

“Mmm—!”

A rich, savory flavor he had never tasted before filled his mouth.

Startled, Paleman kept chewing. The thick slice of Tugpig melted away as if it were dissolving on his tongue.

That was the beginning.

From that moment on, Paleman didn’t stop eating. He kept bringing pieces of meat to his mouth one after another, and before long, the plate was empty.

Only the sauce remained when Patrick smiled faintly.

“Well, what do you think? Wouldn’t a recipe for such a dish sell well? If you decline, I’ll simply try another trading company.”

At that instant, Paleman’s merchant instincts flared.

‘I must secure this!’

He was standing before an incredible recipe unlike anything he had ever encountered.

“N-No, let’s talk about this!”

Paleman hurriedly shut the kitchen door and led Patrick into another room.

It was the office he used for the Sailden Trading Company’s business.

“Now! Tell me about this recipe.”

“I’ll sell it, but under certain conditions.”

“Conditions? What are they?”

Paleman already spoke as if he would accept almost anything.

“I’ve already written up a contract. Please read it.”

Patrick took out a rolled-up sheet of thick parchment from his coat and handed it over.

—

1. The provided recipe may only be sold to officially registered restaurants.

2. 80% of the sales profit is to be distributed to the recipe owner.

3. The recipe may only be used by the restaurant that purchased it. If used by any other restaurant, the violating party must pay ten times the recipe’s sale price to the recipe owner.

4. Under no circumstances may the purchased recipe be transferred or sold to others without permission. If violated, the same penalty as Clause 3 applies.

5. The sale price is to be determined in agreement with the recipe owner.

6. The identity of the recipe owner must never be disclosed to anyone. If violated, 100,000 gold must be paid to the owner.

—

The contract contained an exhaustive list of detailed clauses.

However, Paleman soon spotted several that didn’t make sense to him.

“Isn’t a tenfold penalty too extreme? And taking 80% of the sales profit—surely that’s excessive.”

Despite his objection, Patrick remained calm and composed.

“There are several other recipes besides the one you just tasted. If anyone could use them freely without compensation, what would become of those who purchased them legitimately?”

“You mean there are more? Of similar quality?”

“They’ll taste even better than the one before.”

Hearing Patrick’s confident reply, Paleman’s eyes sharpened.

Even if he could overlook the tenfold penalty clause, the 80% profit share was still problematic.

If he gave up that much, the trading company would be left with only 20%. For a merchant, that was an unacceptable margin.

The sale price itself was another concern—without knowing it, he couldn’t calculate any potential profit.

“How much were you thinking of selling it for……?”

Since the margin would be split, the price was crucial.

Patrick answered firmly.

“At least 100 gold.”

“S-So expensive?”

Paleman was taken aback.

In terms of modern Korean currency, it would be roughly equivalent to ten million won.

Even in the Canel Kingdom, it was enough for an entire family to live comfortably for two seasons.

Naturally, he doubted that any restaurant would pay such a sum for a recipe.

“Wouldn’t you, yourself, pay over 10 silver just to eat what you tasted earlier?”

“At that price, it’d be considered cheap!”

“If a restaurant sold 50 servings a day at 10 silver each, that’s 5 gold daily. In just 20 days, they’d recover 100 gold easily. Don’t you agree?”

Paleman did the math as Patrick spoke.

Frankly, 10 silver per dish was on the cheap side.

If he were the restaurant owner, he would’ve priced it at 15 silver at least.

That was how certain he was of the dish’s quality.

“They could earn back their investment very quickly.”

“Exactly. Considering that, 100 gold is, if anything, a bargain.”

Patrick’s manner of reasoning made him sound more like a seasoned merchant than an adventurer.

Paleman felt anxious as he found himself being completely led by the flow of the negotiation.

“I understand the selling price. But could you perhaps lower the seventy—no, the eighty percent share just a little? If the recipe sells for 100 gold, that leaves us with only 20 gold. We also need enough margin to demonstrate and sell the recipe properly, don’t you think?”

“Hmm… Then how about seventy-five percent?”

“C-Couldn’t you lower it just a little more? Between copying costs and distribution, it’s rather tight for us.”

By this point, the initiative in the negotiation was entirely in Patrick’s hands.

He had captivated Paleman’s appetite by letting him taste the food firsthand.

“Then how about seventy percent? If that’s not acceptable either…”

Patrick let his voice trail off, hinting subtly that he might walk away.

For Paleman, that extra five percent was an unexpected victory.

A thirty-percent profit margin for the Sailden Trading Company was actually a very decent outcome.

“Good! Seventy! Seventy percent it is!”

And so, the profit split was decided.

Patrick dipped the quill that had been standing in the inkwell and modified the contract—changing 80% to 70%.

Then, he took out another sheet of parchment and transcribed the finalized contract neatly.

“Now, let’s sign it.”

The name of the recipe’s owner was already written in the common language of the Phalon Continent as ‘Patrick Waver.’

In truth, the real owner of the recipe was someone else—Raion.

But since Raion could not appear in public, Patrick’s name had been used to avoid complications.

Of course, even the original 80% revenue clause had been specifically instructed by Raion.

It was designed that way from the start—begin negotiations high so the trading company couldn’t lower it beneath seventy percent.

Every step of this entire process had been foreseen by Raion.

“Good. Then here are the recipes.”

Having sealed the deal, Patrick took three sheets of parchment from his bag and handed them over.

“These are the recipes for the dishes?”

“One is for the dish I made earlier—Tugpig Ribs—and the other two are Seasoned Rickbird Roast and Salt-Grilled Tugpig.”

Though Paleman had only just finished eating a full plate, the moment he heard the names of the other dishes, his mouth began to water again.

“I’ll make sure these sell properly! But… may I ask just one thing?”

After the contract was completed, Paleman couldn’t help but glance at the final clause.

The 100,000 gold penalty was a tremendous amount, but as long as he told no one, there was nothing to worry about.

“I’m simply someone who enjoys studying recipes. Since there might be people who’d try to recruit me, it’s just a precaution.”

“I understand. I see what you mean.”

Paleman had met all sorts of eccentric people in his line of work, so he merely assumed Patrick was one of them and didn’t press further.

“If you happen to make any mistakes in the cooking process, please write them down. I’ll visit again in five days.”

With that, Patrick gathered the original contract and stood up.

“Thank you! And if you ever develop more recipes, I sincerely hope you’ll do business with our Sailden Trading Company again!”

Paleman bowed repeatedly, escorting Patrick all the way to the entrance.

—

Several dozen days passed since the recipes first began selling.

A new culinary trend had started to sweep through the royal capital of Canel.

Restaurants that had purchased the mysterious new recipes were booming in success one after another.

Of course, it all began with a single restaurant.

The owner, who had bought the recipe on Paleman’s recommendation, had been skeptical at first.

But the moment the strange yet appetizing aroma began drifting through the air, people couldn’t resist stepping inside.

From that moment on, the restaurant exploded in popularity.

Before long, nearly every well-known restaurant in the capital was using those same recipes.

Naturally, word of these famous recipes reached the royal palace as well.

“Mmm~! This is truly exquisite! How can such flavor be achieved with just meat and vegetables?”

King Laskan had been enjoying every meal recently thanks to these new recipes that had spread throughout the kingdom.

Beside him, Queen Elina chuckled softly, pleased to see her husband in such good spirits.

“I heard someone in the capital has become famous for selling these recipes lately. They must be quite an extraordinary chef.”

“Indeed. Should we not bring such a person into the royal kitchen?”

King Laskan had considered the idea several times already, and with every new dish he tasted, his decision grew firmer.

“Shall I look into it myself?” the queen offered.

But the king shook his head.

“No. I can’t have you go personally. Scribe!”

At his call, a middle-aged man standing in the back stepped forward—First Scribe Raphael Price.

“Your Majesty’s orders shall be carried out,” Raphael said, bowing.

“Can you find them?”

“If we trace the origin of the recipe sales, it should be possible.”

“Good. Proceed immediately.”

“As you command.”

Scribe Raphael bowed again and left the chamber.

“I hope you can bring that person here.”

“If it’s to offer the position of royal chef, who would refuse? Anyone would consider it a great honor.”

“Indeed. In any case, I’m looking forward to it!”

King Laskan truly admired the new dishes he had tasted—and more than anyone, he sincerely hoped that the person who created those recipes would come to serve in his royal palace.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep